Downing Street gatherings during U.K. lockdowns ‘difficult to justify,’ report finds

LONDON — An investigation of Downing Street parties held while coronavirus restrictions were in place found that some of the gatherings showed “a serious failure” to observe the standards expected of government officials and the British population.

A nine-page summary of the investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray assessed that some of the parties showed a failure in leadership, involved excessive alcohol use and “should not have been allowed to take place.”